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S.1 Ep.18 Neural Quorum Governance and the Culture of Decentralization with Anke Liu
In this final episode of Governance Futures Season 1, hosts Jamilya and Eugene speak with Anke Liu, Governance Lead at the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), about Neural Quorum Governance — a novel mechanism co-developed with BlockScience to make community funding more equitable, modular, and participatory.
As the Ecosystem Growth Lead at the Stellar Development Foundation, Anke Liu (X: anke_g_liu) oversees programs and initiatives catalyzing innovation and expansion of the Stellar Ecosystem, including the Stellar Community Fund and the Stellar Ambassador Program. Her collaboration with BlockScience on the creation of Neural Quorum Governance paves the way for a new standard for reputation-based governance. Anke is driven by a passion for decentralized coordination structures and impactful innovation in Web3.
Anke shares how Stellar’s governance evolved from simple community voting into a complex but flexible model balancing reputation, delegation, and trust. The discussion covers privacy vs. transparency, the cultural foundations of decentralization, and what it takes to sustain engagement across bear markets. Anke also reflects on the future of DAO incentives, identity, and the importance of effort and culture in keeping governance systems alive.
The episode closes with Anke’s one-word vision for governance: Plural.
Some of the materials we mention in the episode:
1. Stellar: https://stellar.org/
2. Stellar Community Fund (SCF): https://communityfund.stellar.org/
3. Stellar Community Fund Handbook: https://stellar.gitbook.io/scf-handbook/governance/neural-quorum-governance
4. Introducing Neural Quorum Governance: https://blog.block.science/introducing-neural-quorum-governance/
5. The Story Behind Neural Quorum Governance: https://blog.block.science/the-story-behind-neural-quorum-governance/
6. The Road Ahead — SCF’s Implementation of Neural Quorum Governance: https://medium.com/stellar-community/the-road-ahead-scfs-implementation-of-neural-quorum-governance-4f44d22fa370
7. NQG Voting Report- https://hackmd.io/@blockscience/ryujino3p
8. Metagov Seminar - On Neural Quorum Governance (Liu): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qVfZq8zJKg
Timestamps:
00:00 – Cold Start
00:49 – Introduction: Hosts Jamilya and Eugene open the season finale
02:49 – Reflections on Season 1 and setting the stage for Anke’s episode
04:40 – Anke’s story: from COVID community organizing to blockchain governance
06:42 – Spotting red flags and burnout in community building
08:51 – Why genuine communities survive beyond hype cycles
09:47 – Origins of Neural Quorum Governance (NQG)
10:50 – How neural weighting and quorum delegation work
13:11 – Designing NQG with BlockScience and Stellar’s trust-based ethos
15:11 – Comparing governance models across ecosystems
17:06 – Inside the Stellar Community Fund: panels, reviews, and voting cycles
18:48 – The Pathfinder, Navigator, and Pilot system of roles
20:35 – Delegate selection, quarterly nominations, and accountability
22:44 – Delegation cycles, abstaining votes, and participation rules
24:18 – Voting rounds, timing, and flexibility in the SCF process
26:45 – Iteration over two years: evolution and $30M in grants
28:27 – Adding “neurons” and metrics for voting quality
30:20 – Measuring fairness: decentralization and Theil index
32:02 – Improving equity and access for newcomers
34:23 – Reputation, learning, and how new contributors gain voting power
36:15 – Decentralization challenges and trade-offs
38:27 – Privacy vs. transparency: the hardest governance problem
41:17 – Institutional adoption, privacy demands, and zero-knowledge tech
44:35 – Balancing delegate protection and verifiability
47:51 – Enterprise privacy vs. open decision-making
49:43 – Identity, Proof of Humanity, and reputation layers
51:54 – Culture as the heart of governance systems
55:51 – Rethinking decentralization and the end of the foundation era
58:02 – Open infrastructure, transparency, and credible neutrality
59:52 – Decentralization as global participation and collective trust
01:01:58 – Functional transparency: information vs. comprehension
01:03:55 – Simplicity, effort, and “AI slop” in governance systems
01:05:26 – Grant writing, human effort, and AI misuse
01:07:22 – Local communities, ambassadors, and human onboarding
01:08:32 – Future experiments: identity, reputation, and incentives
01:10:30 – Balancing intrinsic motivation with governance rewards
01:12:22 – Quiz: Access, Culture, Effort, Plural
01:17:06 – Closing credits and reflections on Season 1
View all episodes
By Governance Futures PodcastIn this final episode of Governance Futures Season 1, hosts Jamilya and Eugene speak with Anke Liu, Governance Lead at the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), about Neural Quorum Governance — a novel mechanism co-developed with BlockScience to make community funding more equitable, modular, and participatory.
As the Ecosystem Growth Lead at the Stellar Development Foundation, Anke Liu (X: anke_g_liu) oversees programs and initiatives catalyzing innovation and expansion of the Stellar Ecosystem, including the Stellar Community Fund and the Stellar Ambassador Program. Her collaboration with BlockScience on the creation of Neural Quorum Governance paves the way for a new standard for reputation-based governance. Anke is driven by a passion for decentralized coordination structures and impactful innovation in Web3.
Anke shares how Stellar’s governance evolved from simple community voting into a complex but flexible model balancing reputation, delegation, and trust. The discussion covers privacy vs. transparency, the cultural foundations of decentralization, and what it takes to sustain engagement across bear markets. Anke also reflects on the future of DAO incentives, identity, and the importance of effort and culture in keeping governance systems alive.
The episode closes with Anke’s one-word vision for governance: Plural.
Some of the materials we mention in the episode:
1. Stellar: https://stellar.org/
2. Stellar Community Fund (SCF): https://communityfund.stellar.org/
3. Stellar Community Fund Handbook: https://stellar.gitbook.io/scf-handbook/governance/neural-quorum-governance
4. Introducing Neural Quorum Governance: https://blog.block.science/introducing-neural-quorum-governance/
5. The Story Behind Neural Quorum Governance: https://blog.block.science/the-story-behind-neural-quorum-governance/
6. The Road Ahead — SCF’s Implementation of Neural Quorum Governance: https://medium.com/stellar-community/the-road-ahead-scfs-implementation-of-neural-quorum-governance-4f44d22fa370
7. NQG Voting Report- https://hackmd.io/@blockscience/ryujino3p
8. Metagov Seminar - On Neural Quorum Governance (Liu): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qVfZq8zJKg
Timestamps:
00:00 – Cold Start
00:49 – Introduction: Hosts Jamilya and Eugene open the season finale
02:49 – Reflections on Season 1 and setting the stage for Anke’s episode
04:40 – Anke’s story: from COVID community organizing to blockchain governance
06:42 – Spotting red flags and burnout in community building
08:51 – Why genuine communities survive beyond hype cycles
09:47 – Origins of Neural Quorum Governance (NQG)
10:50 – How neural weighting and quorum delegation work
13:11 – Designing NQG with BlockScience and Stellar’s trust-based ethos
15:11 – Comparing governance models across ecosystems
17:06 – Inside the Stellar Community Fund: panels, reviews, and voting cycles
18:48 – The Pathfinder, Navigator, and Pilot system of roles
20:35 – Delegate selection, quarterly nominations, and accountability
22:44 – Delegation cycles, abstaining votes, and participation rules
24:18 – Voting rounds, timing, and flexibility in the SCF process
26:45 – Iteration over two years: evolution and $30M in grants
28:27 – Adding “neurons” and metrics for voting quality
30:20 – Measuring fairness: decentralization and Theil index
32:02 – Improving equity and access for newcomers
34:23 – Reputation, learning, and how new contributors gain voting power
36:15 – Decentralization challenges and trade-offs
38:27 – Privacy vs. transparency: the hardest governance problem
41:17 – Institutional adoption, privacy demands, and zero-knowledge tech
44:35 – Balancing delegate protection and verifiability
47:51 – Enterprise privacy vs. open decision-making
49:43 – Identity, Proof of Humanity, and reputation layers
51:54 – Culture as the heart of governance systems
55:51 – Rethinking decentralization and the end of the foundation era
58:02 – Open infrastructure, transparency, and credible neutrality
59:52 – Decentralization as global participation and collective trust
01:01:58 – Functional transparency: information vs. comprehension
01:03:55 – Simplicity, effort, and “AI slop” in governance systems
01:05:26 – Grant writing, human effort, and AI misuse
01:07:22 – Local communities, ambassadors, and human onboarding
01:08:32 – Future experiments: identity, reputation, and incentives
01:10:30 – Balancing intrinsic motivation with governance rewards
01:12:22 – Quiz: Access, Culture, Effort, Plural
01:17:06 – Closing credits and reflections on Season 1